50 Words or Less
The Commons, a 12-hole course at Sand Valley in Nekoosa, Wisconsin, is brilliantly designed to engage golfers of all levels. Each hole has tremendous personality. Meant as an “add-on” for the second part of the day, but it stands on its own as the main attraction.
Introduction
Could less golf be more?
As I walked off the 12th green at The Commons, that’s exactly the thought I had. Sand Valley’s latest addition, their sixth course, is built for “afternoon golf” – a shorter round for the second half of the day. After seeing how much personality and interest architect Jim Craig was able to pack into The Commons, I think that many golfers will see it as much more than a complement to Sand Valley’s 18 hole courses.
Practice Facilities
At the time of this writing (October 2025), a massive new practice facility is under construction at Sand Valley. It will span 50 acres and include a 500-yard range with indoor/outdoor hitting bays and the latest launch monitor technology. Sand Valley will also become home to what is believed to be the world’s largest putting course. At eight acres, it will be over three times as large as The Punchbowl at Bandon Dunes.
Until that project is complete, the practice facilities are the only aspect of Sand Valley that could be regarded as pedestrian. There’s a range near the first tee of the Sand Valley course [review HERE], and there are several putting greens throughout the property.
Customer Service & Amenities
Just as the golf offerings at Sand Valley expand, so do the amenities. The Commons is positioned near The Gallery restaurant and the Tennis Center, where you can enjoy all manner of racquet sports, including grass court tennis. Sand Valley’s dining options include Bill’s BBQ, Aldo’s Farm & Table, Mammoth Bar, and Craig’s Porch, well known for their $1 tacos.
What hasn’t changed in Sand Valley’s almost ten years of existence is the excellent customer service. From the bag drop through the post-round drinks, the staff is helpful and friendly. Most important are the caddies. If you have the opportunity to request Tags, do it. He was great company on the course, but his reads were what really set him apart. He read almost every putt for our foursome and each time was spot on with line and speed.
Beauty & Scenery
The Commons is a beautiful walk from a golf park to Luna Lake and back. The first eight holes are compact, playing alongside each other in a way that’s communal but not congested. They share an aesthetic with their neighboring course, Sedge Valley [review HERE], with the contours of the ground competing for attention with the rich color palette of sandy browns, deep greens, and blue skies.
As you reach hole nine, Luna Lake comes into view. While not in play until the tenth hole, your eyes can’t help but wander ahead. The water is a major factor on 10 and 11 before the course turns back toward the rest of the resort on the closing hole. I love how the lake gives the course an aesthetic closing crescendo.
Tee Shots
The Commons is a short course both in the number of holes and the yardage. With only one set of tees listed on the scorecard, it’s a 3,465 yard par 45. That’s the equivalent of a 5,198 yard 18 hole course. That number is slightly deceptive because there’s only one par 5 and four par 3s, but the par 4s are fairly short – 351 yards on average. All that to say, this is not a course that’s going to overpower you.
This lack of distance makes The Commons very playable for shorter hitters and full of options for the bombers. There are two par 4s that are obviously drivable and a couple others that could be depending on the wind and tee placement. Even players with average distance will have choices to make off the tee, which makes the course much more engaging.
Turning to accuracy, The Commons gives you ample room to miss, if you’re hitting the “right” distance. These are not wide, boring fairways that invite you to swing out of your shoes. There are sides of the fairways that are troublesome, some that will require a re-tee. In keeping with the theme of the property, there are numerous fairway bunkers and sandy waste areas for players who are crooked.
Overall, The Commons offers golfers a fun, balanced array of tee shots. You can choose to strategize your way around the course, or you can bomb away. Leaving the driver in the bag is possible (if suboptimal), or you can hit it on every par 4 and 5. The course doesn’t dictate your play, which is one of the best compliments I can give to Jim Craig’s design.
Approach Shots
Finding the fairway at The Commons is no guarantee of an easy shot into the green. The undulations in the fairway are flowing and impactful, but not overly dramatic. Being on the wrong side of a swale won’t take away your vision of the green, but you will need to manage your stance to produce the shot you want. The player who ignores their lie is the player who is unlikely to find a single green in regulation.
Speaking of finding greens in regulation, you’re unlikely to do so from the fairway bunkers. They’re a big part of The Commons’ defense: you can bomb your driver off the tee, but doing so usually brings more traps into play. The fairway bunkers aren’t huge, but most have a healthy lip that will eagerly gobble up overly ambitious approach shots. If you find yourself in one, take your medicine to get out.
Like Mammoth Dunes [review HERE] and the other Sand Valley courses, the rough is not a major consideration. The rough at The Commons was actually some of the thickest I’ve seen on property, but I attribute some of this to the growing in period. When it’s open for regular play, I expect the rough to be trimmed down even more. Even in this slightly thicker state, the rough is vastly preferable to the fairway bunkers or waste areas.
Depending on your club selection from the tee, you’ll be hitting anything from mid irons to flip wedges into the greens. What makes The Commons an engaging design is that it doesn’t have to be all one or the other. If a given hole fits your eye off the tee, you might play it driver-wedge. A player of the same length might be more concerned about the hazards in the fairway and opt for hybrid-8I. Then you’ll switch on the next hole. This is a course with a load of replay value.
Hitting shorter clubs into the green is helpful – arguably necessary – because the greens are not overly welcoming targets. Many of the greens at The Commons are slightly triangular in shape, giving every angle of approach something to worry about. Most are also elevated, leaving even less room for error. On average, the greens are a little bigger than normal, but they feel small compared to the others at Sand Valley.
Finally, players at The Commons are welcome to use the ground game, but it’s not necessarily the easiest or best method. The first deterrent is the elevated greens. You’ll need strong control of your pace to run the ball up the slopes but not over the green. Additionally, you need to set up your running shots from the tee. Often a fairway or greenside bunker will block the low road. In spite of these obstacles, the undulations in the fairway and surrounds make a well-played runner one of the more satisfying shots available.
Greens & Surrounds
The impactful undulations that are found in the fairway continue all the way into the surrounds. In the photo above, you can see just how much this will change your stance – and this is hardly the most dramatic example on the course. Most chips and pitches will be played into an elevated target, meaning a slightly uphill lie can be very helpful, but a downhill lie can be treacherous.
Also carrying forward from the fairway is the danger of the sand traps. The greenside bunkers tend to be smaller in terms of square footage, but many have steep lips. That smaller area can also be part of the challenge as you might not be able to stand comfortably to your ball. The bunkers at The Commons have natural edges, which is another risk/reward element: your ball stopping short of the sand can be a gift or a curse, depending on the situation.
The putting surfaces reflect the rest of the course – loads of personality and interest but nothing extreme. There’s a great deal of complexity in the designs, but you’ll never look at a putt and feel that it’s unmakeable.
Playing The Commons during preview play, the greens were a little slower than the others at Sand Valley, but they were still impressively smooth. When the course opens in summer 2026, the greens will add a substantial measure of challenge to the course. Each contour will need to be judged more precisely as the added speed makes them more impactful.
Overall Design
As I’ve written the last few sections, the word that keeps coming to mind is “tasteful.” The Commons is a course designed with good taste. There’s a lot of character, but nothing is extravagant or over the top. Every hole has personality, but it’s not of the “There’s a waterfall, so this is our signature hole” variety.
Part of this level of taste comes from the fact that every feature has purpose. There aren’t any extraneous bunkers or mounds that are just for show. Walking through the course, you can see how every undulation could affect a given line of play.
This adds up to a course that’s thoughtful but still fun. It’s not a penal design, but it won’t reward mindlessly bashing away, either. Birdies will only be found if you match your strategy to your skills and execute at a high level, but The Commons doesn’t feel the need to pummel the high handicapper.
It would be hard to say that The Commons tops The Sandbox [review HERE] for “Most Fun Course” at Sand Valley, but there’s an argument to be made. What’s inarguable is that The Commons adds another unique element to what might be the best golf resort in the country. From the challenging Lido [review HERE] to the wide open Mammoth Dunes, Sand Valley gives every golfer the ability to craft their own perfect day on the course.
Favorite Holes
#2 – Par 3 – 155 Yards
From the tee, a mound at the end of the fairway blocks your view of the front, lowest tier of the green. The back two tiers are protected by bunkers on either side. This hole is memorable because of the myriad pin positions available and the different ways you can play to each one. We played to one of the frontmost pins which invited us to land the ball just over the mound and let the slope bring the ball toward the cup. The difficulty of this hole increases substantially as the pin moves back.
#6 – Par 4 – 356 Yards
There are two things that make this hole special: the tiny double bunker in the fairway and the biarritz-style green. From the tee, the double bunker looms large. It’s the primary consideration in what line to take and what club to hit. Collectively, these bunkers are no more than a few square feet, revealing how little dirt a master designer needs to move to dramatically alter a hole.
The swale in the sixth green sits forward of center and splays out to the right. This allows for fun, creative approach and short game shots, particularly when the pin is on the right, at the bottom of the swale. Should the pin sit in the back third, you’ll be cursing this feature if you land your approach short.
#7 – Par 4 – 302 Yards
Our caddie, Tags, said that #10 at The Commons is arguably the best hole in Wisconsin. I would argue it’s not the best short par 4 at The Commons. #7 plays uphill through a narrow chute lined by a ridge and bunkers on the left and trees on the right. There’s a fairly generous – but semi-blind – landing area for short lay up shots, but you need to take on some risk if you want to hit a wedge into this elevated green. Those going for the green will find plenty of room right, but you need confidence in your power to take on that shot.
Conclusion
Occupying two spots on my “5 Forever Golf Courses” list [find it HERE], Sand Valley is one of my favorite golf destinations in the world, and the addition of The Commons only makes it better. I applaud the Keisers and Jim Craig for offering golf something different with this 12-hole design, and I hope more properties – from high end resorts to municipalities – consider following suit. Whether its a side dish or the entree, The Commons demands to be part of your next Sand Valley itinerary.
Book Your Visit to The Commons HERE
Editor In Chief at Plugged In Golf
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.